Fleetwood Mac to Be Honored as MusiCares Person of the Year

This marks the first time a band is being recognized with the tribute, taking place two days before the Grammys.

Fleetwood Mac will be honored at the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute, set for Friday, Jan. 26.

The two-time Grammy-winning band is being honored "in recognition of their significant creative accomplishments and their longtime support of a number of charitable causes," including MusiCares, which offers health and human services to the music industry.

Proceeds from the 28th annual benefit gala, which will be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York during two nights before the 60th annual Grammy Awards, will provide support for MusiCares. The event's tribute chairs are Shelli and Irving Azoff, Dorothy and Martin Bandier, Kristin and James Dolan, and Anna Chapman and Ronald Perelman.

In making the announcement, Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the MusiCares Foundation and the Recording Academy, said: "Our 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute is a celebration of firsts — the first time our annual signature gala will be held in New York City in 15 years, and the first time in the benefit's history that we will honor a band. This excitement is only matched by the genuine thrill and privilege of paying tribute to Fleetwood Mac, a legendary and influential group of artists whose music has provided the soundtrack for music lovers around the world."

Added Mick Fleetwood on behalf of the band: "It's a tremendous honor to be the first band to receive the MusiCares Person of the Year award. Independently and together, we all set off on a journey to spend our lives as artists, songwriters, and musicians. None of us did it alone and there were plenty of helping hands along the way, so we applaud and celebrate MusiCares' guiding principles of giving musicians a helping hand and a place to turn in times of need. We are very appreciative of this recognition."

The MusiCares Person of the Year tribute ceremony was last held in New York in 2003. The Grammy Awards also move to New York in 2018 before returning to Los Angeles the following year. The 2018 edition, hosted by James Corden, is set for Sunday, Jan. 28, at Madison Square Garden, with a live broadcast on CBS.